True Crime with Kimbyr - The Tragic End of April Millsap: A Safe Community Shattered: Part 3

Episode Date: December 3, 2024

In Part 3 of this tragic case on True Crime with Kimbyr, we shift focus to the investigation. How did a town with such a low crime rate face such a horrifying mystery? We reveal the shocking twists, the relentless search for answers, and the heartbreaking aftermath for April’s loved ones. Through meticulous research and a compassionate lens, we piece together the evidence and honor April’s legacy. Don’t miss this powerful and emotional conclusion—subscribe to True Crime with Kimbyr for more stories that demand to be told. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

32-year-old James Jr. had quite a sizable rap sheet, including crimes like disorderly conduct, larceny, probation violations, and much more. And from the looks of it, it's pretty clear that he was no stranger to being on the wrong side of the law. And like father, like son, I guess, because 76-year-old James Van Callis Sr. also had a rap sheet. And back in 1995, when he was only 48, James Sr. had been charged and convicted of a sexual crime involving a minor female. He was a registered offender, and if you are familiar, he was convicted of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. And this involves a victim younger than 13. He was also convicted of fourth-degree criminal conduct with a victim 13 to 16. While the detectives working on April's murder were convinced that the motive behind it was sexual,

And James' senior's behavior did seem a little bit off when they were over at the home that night. They couldn't shake the feeling that this family was hiding something. However, the detective's gut feeling was not enough to arrest or charge James Sr. or James Jr. with a crime or anything connected to April's murder. Despite the suspicions, the detectives lacked concrete evidence to implicate him or his son. But one detective thought that he might know what James Sr. may have been trying to hide that night. they had spotted some marijuana plants growing on the property when they came by. In the state of Michigan, it is legal to cultivate marijuana as long as you have the proper documentation. When the authorities went to check on the Van Callis family, including James Jr.,

they found out that he, his father, and his mother, Brenda Pupy, all possessed the required documents granting them the authority to grow marijuana on their property. According to the regulations, they were permitted to cultivate a total number of 36 plants, which would be 12 plants for each individual living there. But this enabled the detectives to conduct a search of this grow operation to inspect that they were indeed following the law. And upon further investigation, the detectives uncovered an excess of plants on this property. They also found what looked like a very weird trash dump on the site, and that really piqued their curiosity. When the family was questioned about the surplus of plants, they explained, you know, it was a result of the initial 36 plants failing to grow properly.

properly, but despite this excuse about why they were growing more marijuana than was legally allowed, the detectives decide to make an arrest of both James Jr. and senior on drug charges. And the detectives investigating April's murder saw an opportunity to further their investigation and decided to petition the court for a search warrant of the Van Callis home in Wales Township. For one, because the bike matched the description of the one seen on the trail and the time James was in the area matched up. So their request was ultimately and they executed a search warrant on this entire home and the property on July 30th. And a lot of agents were on the scene conducting the search.

For such a nice house on the outside, the inside was a whole other story. As they stepped inside, they were immediately hit with a strong and just unpleasant odor coming from piles of foul-smelling trash scattered throughout this entire house. This home was filled with garbage and junk. and junk, especially when it came to where James was staying. I want you to take a look if you're looking at the screen, and if you're not, come to the screen, look at this desk. Please tell me he doesn't work from this desk,

because how? It's littered with soda cans, old food, just rotting garbage. I mean, I'm gonna tell you right now, I'm a pretty messy person. Cleaning is not my talent, but still, this looks like no one has tidied up in a while. In James's bathroom, there was clothes hanging up, a bucket of water on the ground, and the clothing seemed to been recently worn.

They do recall James saying he was wearing camo pants the night of the 24th. And the fact that they were hung up over the shower indicated to them that maybe they were taken off when James washed up after wearing them. So they were documented and seized. They actually seized a number of items. The helmet was next. It was sitting by some window cleaner. And interestingly, the helmet had fibers on it, which looked like they came for maybe a towel or a rag, and it had streak marks like it had been recently wiped down. I mean, it wouldn't be uncommon for someone to clean their motorcycle helmet, but still, they took note of it.

They took his motorcycle and they also confiscated a shoe with a herringbone pattern on it, as well as James' computer, and they also sees some hand sanitizer, his phone, and an additional phone that was found out in a Ford Explorer that was owned by James Jr. Well, that same day, the news broadcasted very very very very, very much. videos and pictures of James Jr. and senior being arrested. Well, Mary, the eyewitness on the trail, she was following the news story very closely. And when she saw James' face, she knew that was the man she saw on the trail with April. So she's sitting there figuring these detectives were going to call her any minute to do a lineup, but crickets.

And this surprised her. But she figured, you know what, they're probably busy, they're going to get in touch soon. They have to. And on August 1, 2014, a funeral service was held at San Francisco. Mary Mystical Rose Church in Armada, the same church where April had been confirmed earlier that year. And even though there was an ongoing investigation, the community gathered to pay their final respects to April. There were over 200 people that attended the service. They were united in their grief and support for April's family. Many of them wore pink ribbons because that was April's favorite color,

and they put them all over the town, all over the community. And one person that was interviewed there said that the reason she wanted to do that was because the killer was still out there. And she was hoping he would pass by, and he would see those ribbons, and he would know that they have their eye out. Three ministers officiated the funeral mass, which lasted over an hour, and there was a memory card featuring April's beautiful smile. They were distributed to everyone that was in attendance. As the service progressed, a very sentimental song called Butterfly Kisses, I'm sure you've heard it before, if not. It was the choice that held a special meeting to April's mother and her loved ones. And this evoked a lot of mixed emotions within that chapel.

Jennifer, April's mom, was so overwhelmed. She just had tears that were just streaming down her face. This community came together to offer their support and their comfort to Jennifer and her family. Many people came up. They were hugging her. They were talking about their memories with April and they were trying to provide some solace during this difficult time. It was definitely a testament to the impact that April had on the lives of everyone around her.

They wanted so badly for her case to be solved. And investigators were still working hard. But Mary still hadn't been called in for a lineup, and it had been a couple weeks. So she finally reached out to the police on August 14th, and they had a more in-depth interview with her, as well as a written statement. And she thought for sure they would ask her

to see James face to face. She thought it was really important for her to confidently identify him, but they still didn't provide that. And she had to leave for a vacation to Maine. When she returned, she still had to be able to, she still hadn't been called in. So this woman went above and beyond.

She began examining videos on the news, pictures in the media, and she called the police station on August 20th and said James Van Callis was the man she saw on the trail with April. And on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being no doubt, she said she's a 10. She's that confident, it was him. It was irritating me that they weren't really doing anything about her being so confident.

But by then, the sports tracker data was handed back to Agent Zense. And the data that was captured during her workout on July 24th included latitude and longitude, the date, the time, and the speed that she was going. There was actually 3,000 data points. And this is where things get really interesting. They now had a video of what April's app recorded on the evening of the 24th, the exact path that she took. But it wasn't as detailed as, let's say, looking at a map on Google. Earth. So Zense, with his expertise, was able to import all of the data points into Google Earth to create a very in-depth animation. And I have this exact video that was presented to the court.

Now they have a video of the exact path that April was walking the evening of the 24th. Now this video is over an hour long because it's in real time. When they showed it in court, they put it on two times speeds so that of course everyone could look at it. Now I'm not going to be showing you the whole thing because this video would be probably three hours long. But I will show you parts of it and I will slow it down in parts and then I will speed it up in others. April began tracking her steps at 5.50 p.m., making her way from her house on Maine to right near the granary off Depot road. She gets on the McComb Orchard Trail right here and her average speed is from two to four miles an hour. Now because she's walking her dog Penny, she does zigzag a lot.

She's stopping here. She's stopping there to let her sniff and go to the bathroom. So she's not always walking in a straight line on the path. Anytime she's walking the trail, she usually, as I said, goes for about 30 minutes, turns around, and a good place to turn around is right near the Liberty Trail area. So that is where she's headed. And she would be going east. Now after she turns around, she's heading west, of course, and this is the time frame that most of the eyewitnesses say that they saw April and the man on the motorcycle.

It matches up to the app. And around 6.20, April speeds up to about 2.2 miles an hour. And then she abruptly changes directions and doubles her pace to 4.4 miles an hour. She's kind of running all around, which is very odd. But then she's back on the main trail. And just eight minutes later, once she felt safe again, presumably thinking that she'd gotten away from a kidnapper, she took out her cell phone and texted her boyfriend with, I think I almost got kidnapped, O MFG.

But for April, this danger was far from over for her, as we see from what happens next. And this is really chilling. Even the detective on this case found this next part to be disturbing because it's like we are witnessing April's murder. As she heads along the trail, all of a sudden, things get very chaotic. The movements are sharp.

You can tell with these yellow pins here, they mark very important things that are happening. Three phone calls that she made. and sadly where her body was located. I'll tell you when those calls are made as we watch this very telling sequence of events. Remember, this is two times speed and sometimes faster, but you see that the phone does stop,

and I'm gonna refer to the phone as April, and not just the phone, because we know she had her phone in her hand. So she stops briefly, and most likely she was confronted by her attacker. Then she darts the other way. And this is when the first phone call is made at 6.31 p.m.

A minute later, she makes a minute later, she makes another call at 632, and it's to the exact same number. And then another call to that number at 633, all while frantically trying to escape. At trial, they said she called 810-882-2469, which appeared to be a Michigan number, but they never revealed whose number this was. And from the research that I did, it seemed to be a non-working number. So had she frantically dialed wrong and then just kept pressing the call button, we don't know. But from her injury, We know that she had been struck in the head multiple times,

so it stands to reason that she had already been struck at this point. Or the killer was attempting to strike her, and with all the evidence provided, detectives believed that the helmet was used as a weapon. It was at least three to four pounds, and could be easily swung around with enough force to cause serious injuries. They know the weapon was not jagged like a rock.

It was smooth because it didn't leave any indentations in April's skin. There are several moments like this one where April is at a single. standstill. We can only imagine what was happening. Was she crawling? Was she hurt? Was she trying to get up or being pinned down? Maybe getting out of his grasp for a second only to be caught and hit again. We won't know for sure. But for 15 minutes, April was trying her hardest to survive and to get away. That is clear from the path that we can see and it is extremely heartbreaking. You can see her dart really fast in one direction and then she stops and then she

She goes in another. It's like a sick game of cat and mouse. There are several times before April dies where she's in one place for a little while and then moves just a tiny bit before she's still again. We know that her clothes were taken off. The killer was most likely gaining control in these moments and April was getting weaker, but she was clearly still trying to escape. At some point, detectives know that the killer actually took April's phone.

So some of these steps may have actually been the killer and not April, and her body could have been moved to its final resting place after she was deceased. We know it's right here where it has been marked by the detective. There are times when the phone is moving after they believe she was dead, and that's the killer going back to retrieve the backpack, the leash, and then proceeding to the trail to get his motorcycle. You're going to see one of the most telling parts right after that. It's right here, 6.44 p.m. All of a sudden, the speed of the phone is traveling up to 18 miles per hour in a straight line. Clearly, this is the killer getting away. And what's great is that they now have his exact path down the McComborchard Trail and beyond. He goes west down the path, back towards the trailhead at Depot Street and into the town of Armada. The detectives followed this path, and they realized the killer rode through the subdivision,

where Liberty Lane is located. So they make a note to reach out to all of those residents and see if anyone had camera footage of the street. Beyond that, the killer rides out of Armada on Osmo Road, where he ultimately goes down a driveway and the phone stops operating. Detectives were able to match this location on the map to where Buster located April's phone.

The killer most likely smashed the phone on the ground and then through the case and the phone into the bushes where it was found. Wow, I'm finally like able to take a breath because that was a lot. They went to the locations depicted on this animation and evidence ended up being recovered as a result. First, Daniel Koss lived on the corner house off Jefferson and Monroe and his house was in the path where the killer fled. Well, sure enough, he had not one but two cameras installed and they both caught footage of a person riding a motorcycle around 6.51 p.m. And while they can't discern who's riding the motorcycle,

riding the motorcycle, they're unable to see a license plate or the killer's face or any identifying characteristics. They can match the times up to when they know the killer was in that location. I kept wondering what his reason was for taking April's phone with him. Was it in case she somehow woke up so she couldn't call for help or so she would be harder to identify or were his fingerprints on it from possibly trying to grab it out of her hand when she was making those calls? Whatever the case, little did he know that it led to the police right to him. It essentially solved this case. Or at least gave them one of the biggest breaks that they had. Now, detectives also get the CCTV footage from the Marathon gas station,

and sure enough, there's the same motorcycle. This was at 6.17 p.m., just minutes away from the trail. When he drives away, he does go in the opposite direction from the trail. But that's because there's a right turn-only sign. He actually heads back towards a trail because you see he makes a U-turn and comes back the other way. Now you know what else? Look at this. Right before he comes back down that road, Amy and Gail can be seen at the bottom of this video as they made their way to the trail after filling up their tires with air.

They had been at the same gas station at the same time. That's so eerie. So this puts the killer two minutes away from the trail at 6.17 p.m. And it stands to reason that that's where he went after this, because most eyewitnesses saw the guy on the motorcycle around 625. That's just eight minutes after the bike is seen at the gas station. They know they have their killer.

But is it James Van Callis? Or did he just happen to drive a similar motorcycle? There were other articles that were still missing. So after the path was mapped out, a team went out to canvas the path to see if any of April's missing items could be located like her backpack. They had ATVs, drones, and officers on foot, all doing grid searches along the whole path.

They even drained pools, went through backyards, and sheds, and eventually they do find the backpack thrown in someone's backyard. I think it was actually in someone's pool, but they never found the leash. DNA analysis was being conducted on all the items that were collected, and none of the items matched April's DNA. They were trying to find a way to connect James to Armada or to April, and what they did confirm was that James had a 14-year-old son that went to the same school with April. Other than that, they didn't find any direct connections between the two of them.

They weren't in each other's phones, they didn't text each other, they weren't messaging. But they were still analyzing things like Van Callis' computer at the time. They had also gone back to interview James' girlfriend, Crystal Stadler. It wasn't until the third interview that she finally opened up to them about James. Crystal revealed that she had first encountered James when she was only 19 years old and he was already 27. And she described their initial connection as love at first sight. And in the beginning, James presented himself as kind and charming, but as time went on, his true colors began to surface, revealing a dark and controlling side.

And he got physical with her. Crystal's friends hated James, and they stopped wanting to associate with her because of him. And she lost a lot of friends. James didn't allow her to get her driver's license or get a car. Instead, he or his parents would drive Crystal wherever she needed to go if she was allowed to go anywhere at all. Because usually James didn't allow her to do much. She couldn't see her own family, and she wasn't even allowed to have her own phone. They dated for almost nine years or so. So by the time 2014 came around, she was 26 years old and she was living with James and his parents' home. But it definitely wasn't the lap of luxury.

First of all, only half of that house had on the grid electricity. The suite that she and James lived in was run off of a generator that he controlled. So if you needed to clean clothes or even use the toilet, that all ran on the generator. And James would turn it off when he left the house. Leaving Crystal unable to do much. She had to fill up buckets of water just to flush the toilet. The computer you saw in that room that I showed you, that was James's. Crystal didn't know the password and it would only work If the generator was on, James would go on it in the early mornings or at night when he was there. And Crystal had no idea what he did on it, but she knew that he monitored her Facebook account.

She didn't use it much, but he unfriended her because he didn't want it to look like he was in a relationship. She had no support system besides his family. They did have a three-year-old child together at the time, and here's a picture of the room they slept in. No bed, no drapes, just sheets hung up over the windows and blankets on the floor. floor. She said they were in the middle of redoing the place, but I feel like it probably looked like this a lot of the time. If Crystal needed to get in touch with James, she said that she would have to ask his mom Brenda to text him or call him from her phone. Can you even imagine living like this? I felt so bad for this woman. Crystal said she was actually fearful of James and she

felt trapped. She decided to stay with him because she was scared of him. Now with James in jail and the detectives being a source of safety for Crystal, she told them something that she had been hiding. She said that she feels bad for April's mother, being a mother herself. So she felt compelled to tell them what she knew. First of all, she tells them she knows exactly what James was wearing when he left the house on July 24th. It was actually a white shirt with some kind of footballs on it or something.

Then he had camo gray pants, a black car heart sweatshirt, a black backpack, and he wasn't wearing case with sneakers. James loved shoes. He had like over 100 pairs, and he had a favorite pair that he always wore. They were black and white Jordans. But ever since that night on July 24th, she said she hadn't seen them, nor had she seen the black Carhart sweatshirt. She said that James left around 5 p.m. and she never saw him come back to get his sunglasses. He could have. She just didn't see him. He told her he was going to his brother's house to drop off a toothbrush thing and to get some money for dog food. He wasn't home until 8.30 or 9 p.m. It was just getting dark outside by that time. Everything seemed pretty normal, but he did go inside his father's room for quite some time.

And what was interesting is this was actually Brenda, James Jr.'s mother and her new husband's house. But her ex-husband lived there along with James Jr. and Crystal and their little boys. It was a very unique situation. But later that night, James was in his boxers, he got ready for bed, and that's when she saw an injury on his leg. And she asked him what happened. He told her he was cleaning the dog cage and cut himself.

But she hadn't seen that cut any time before he left. A little bit later, they were lying next to each other in bed, and Crystal was permitted to go on Facebook using Brenda's tablet. And when she goes on there, she sees a post, about April's murder. And she immediately shows it to James. He takes the tablet and he's just reading about the murder, but he didn't even comment about it.

Then they just went to sleep. But Crystal is awoken by a noise in the middle of the night. And when she looks over, James is not next to her. So she walks over to where she hears this noise and she sees him in the other room sitting in his computer desk, cleaning his Jordans with hand sanitizer and a sock. And she had never seen him do anything like this before. It was very unusual.

She said, why are you cleaning your shoes? And he told her he was cleaning off some oil that he got on them from earlier. Had never done that before. She goes back to bed and soon after that, James comes back. He's being all lovey-dovey with her. Those were her words. And he tells her that he messed up and he needs her to stand by his side. Crystal doesn't even question him about what he's talking about, but she does tell detectives that he never said anything like this to her before.

The next morning, he asked her to do a load of laundry, and that was actually unusual. He never wanted her to touch his clothing, but he specifically asked her to clean the Carhart hoodie, the white shirt, and his camo pants. And when putting the sweatshirt in the wash, she noticed there was a wad of human hair and some grass shavings from inside the pocket. And these leaves and grass, it did not look like it came from their yard. It was, it totally different kind of foliage. She put the clump of hair on the bathroom sink, kind of to, like, save it there because she was concerned. She didn't know what you could do at that point. They didn't even have a dryer, so she had to hang all the clothes up to dry, and that's why they were hung on the shower

when the police found them. That night the police came to the house around 1130. James woke her up and told her to come outside with him and his mom and his dad, and they were all being questioned. But that That night she didn't get questioned, she was just listening to the whole interaction. And later when the police left, James looked at everyone, his whole family, and told them to tell police he was wearing K-Swish shoes if they asked. But Crystal knew he wasn't. The next day she noticed that the Air Jordans and a shoebox with a bunch of important paperwork of hers was gone, as well as the clump of hair. At that point, James was wearing the Carhart sweatshirt and this was Saturday the 26th. She also saw it on the 27th

before his arrest. Crystal thinks it must have been thrown away because she never saw it after that. It was unfortunate that the Jordans were gone, but Crystal told detectives they could find a picture of James wearing them on his Facebook. So she pulled up his profile and there they were. There was a picture of him wearing the black and white Air Jordans. She also tells them that before the arrest, James threatened her, saying if she said anything, he would bring her down with him. He was really agitated at the time, especially after seeing the composite sketch. and Crystal really thought James had done it. She even confronted him about it saying that she thought he did.

James didn't say anything. And luckily, he was arrested by the 30th, but she was still afraid of his family. Crystal was able to safely move out of James' home and go to her mother's house where she would be safe. They were very thankful that she was brave enough to tell them the truth. With this new information, the detectives were doing a few things.

One, they were still trying to get James' brother Donnie to turn over his cell phone. They actually went to his workplace where he ended up lying at first. He said he lost his phone. He did not want to turn over his phone. And the impression that I got after watching and learning everything

was that this was more of an inconvenience to Donnie than him trying to hide anything. And you'll understand why. Because eventually he did turn it over after the detectives called it and they confronted him that it wasn't dead. It was actually ringing. Donnie said the police were very polite

and he wanted to work with them. He just didn't want to lose possession of his phone. However, he admitted to the police that James had told him to delete the text messages between them. And Donnie responded with absolutely not. And he left all of their correspondence on that phone. They eventually had enough to arrest James Van Callas. But it wasn't until October 8th, six months after April's murder, because they wanted to make sure they had a rock-solid case against him.

James was charged with three counts. first-degree premeditated murder, felony murder, and assault with an attempt to commit sexual penetration. After the arrest of James Van Callas, his mom, Brenda, she spoke to the media about the devastating impact that this had on their family. Brenda asserted that her son was not responsible for April's murder, that it was basically a witch hunt. She described James as a great father and a great kid who would never be capable of such an act. What is she not seeing, or what is she seeing that we're not seeing? I do feel bad because it's her son, and I know as a mother you don't want to imagine that your own child would be capable of such an evil deed. But ma'am, there was a lot of evidence proving that he did this.

But in an effort to support James and the Van Callis family, their attorney, as czar sheik, addressed the media as well. And he emphasized that this was only circumstantial evidence. And there was substantial evidence to prove his client was innocent. His attorney confidently stated that this evidence formed a mountain of proof that James Van Callis Jr. did not commit the murder. In November 2014, James Van Callis Sr. was sentenced for manufacturing marijuana and he received a one-year jail sentence with credit for the 118 days he already served. Finally, in January of 2016, James Van Callis Jr. stood trial for the murder of April Millsap. I watched the entire thing. It's a case that I will never forget, and that's why I wanted to talk about it.

This case was regarded as one of the most significant in McComb County's history. The trial included substantial evidence that strongly pointed towards James Van Callis's guilt. But the jury foreman later admitted that the evidence was pretty overwhelming to the jurors. There was a lot of it presented. All the eyewitnesses for one thing, and you already know their testimony. But the biggest piece was the sports tracker data. However, there was was more damning proof that James was the culprit. After detectives got the information from James's girlfriend Crystal about the Air Jordans, they immediately began their investigation in trying to find out what the tread on those shoes looked like. And through their diligent efforts, the detectives

were able to identify the make of the sneakers as flight the power. The detectives wasted no time and they ordered a pair of Air Jordans online the same size that James Van Callis Jr. would have worn, which is a size 12. And they discovered that the sneakers had the exact herringbone pattern that they had been looking for. And what's even more disturbing is once they laid those shoes down on the pictures of the shoe prints on April's face, it was clear that the logo, which is called the Jump Man, that Nike uses for Air Jordans, it's Michael Jordan making that jump shot. That was imprinted on April's cheek.

That actually hit me really hard. It was sickening. This significant finding strengthened their suspicion that James was connected to Let's talk about the internet searches from James' computer from April, May, June, and July. They included searches like, how to make a girl that does not want you, want you. How to make a girl fall in love with you. What girls really want? And why does this girl ignore me?

There were also video searched, which included young women. At first I thought, okay, could this have been his young 14-year-old? Because doesn't it sound like a search that an innocent little boy would do? But it turns out from my research that he lived with his mom and our maid up. And we know that James was the only person that had access to this computer. In March, the search terms on Google and YouTube were, what does it mean when a girl tells you she has a boyfriend? What to do when a girl tells you she has a boyfriend?

How to tell if a girl likes you. And videos about how to text a girl and how to have sex with a girl. In July, around the 18th, so just days before April's murder, James was searching. the easiest way to impress a woman, how to attract a younger woman, how to make a girl fall in love with you, how to make a girl that does not want you want you, why would this girl say I'm too old for her and still hit on me and do younger girls like older men? In addition to those disturbing searches on his computer, there were cell tower records about where James was on July 24th.

And at 604, about 20 minutes before he was seen on that trail, his phone was pinging in our Meta Tower, as well as 6.14 p.m. and 6.16 p.m. My favorite part of this trial was when Mr. Van Callis himself showed his own true colors. We know he has issues with women. He likes to control them, and he doesn't like taking orders from women. Well, the judge in this case was a woman. And when one eyewitness from the trail wanted to see what his face looked like in his helmet, the prosecution asked James to put it on. James does so. And at this point, the judge, keeps asking James to do certain things, stand up, then bend down more, move the helmet this way and that way. And at one point, James had had enough.

He yells back at the judge, putting his attitude on full display. And in response, his attorney yells at him. He warned him not to say anything further. I have that clip, so I wanted to play it for you. Can you bring the helmet down in the front? It cuts my head. I bought it. Oh, whoa, whoa. Say anything.

Can you push the helmet with the arrow down? The prosecution's theory was that James had sexual attention built up from a young girl that he knew that he was having a hard time getting to sleep with him. This is evidence from the internet searches. Apparently, he was being rejected. The girl must have been saying things like he was too old for her. But in his mind, and according to his searches, this young girl was still making advances towards him. He made those searches just days before he went to the McComb Trail. This young girl I'm talking about is not April. She was an... innocent target for his aggression and just evilness. We won't know if he saw April walking before

she made it to the trail because we only know his path afterward and on camera at the gas station, but at some point after making contact with her, he got in in his mind that he wanted more. They believe he probably tried to talk to her and like this other young girl in his life who rejected him, April probably said the same thing. She politely let him know she had a boyfriend. She probably told him in a nice way that she wasn't interested. But that didn't go over well with James. And all of his sexual aggression that was built up at 620, when April initially picked up her pace,

it's believed that James tried to grab her and pull her into the woods. But she broke free. And eight minutes later, she texted Austin that she almost got kidnapped. At this time, witnesses saw her at least 30 to 50 feet away from James, as he was walking his bike or getting back on it after being separated from him. her. Minutes after that text, it's believed that James struck April in the head from behind using his helmet, and she was knocked off balance. He was able to get her down that steep slope next to the trail, but she was able to get up and run, and that's when we see her attempt to make those three

calls back to back. But ultimately, James, who was continuously hitting April, gained control, and was able to begin to remove her clothing. But something stopped him from continuing his plan. It could have been Penny barking on the trail. We know that one of the witnesses slowed down as he passed by because he heard this barking. It's also been said that he may have hit her so hard that she was already deceased. And if he's not a necrophiliac, he's not going to proceed with this plan. It sounds disgusting, but the thrill of the chase is over if she's already deceased. For whatever the reason was, James decided to change his plan from intercourse to murder, stomping on April's face, head and neck

until she was no longer breathing. Then he fled the area around the exact same time he got that text from his brother that he was finally home at 6.44 p.m. That's the same time that April's phone started traveling at a high rate of speed out of there. After closing arguments, the jury deliberated for six hours. On February 8, 2016, James Van Callis Jr. was declared guilty

of the brutal crimes of first-degree premeditated murder, first-degree felony murder, kidnapping, and attempted for sexual penetration. against April Millsap. Of course, James' mother sat there in disbelief. She was shaking her head, she was crying, rolling her eyes. And then afterward, there were cheers and clapping from the courtroom and lots of hugs.

Even James' attorney embraced April's mother, which I thought was a very nice gesture. After all, being a defense attorney is still a job. On March 30th, the sentencing hearing took place, and Jennifer had the chance to speak and give an impact statement. Jennifer expressed her confusion and her pain over James's actions. She wanted to know why he had done this to her daughter. What did she ever do for you to do something so brutal? It's truly sad. And James, he just stood there emotionless.

Just staring. Jennifer went on to express the devastating loss that she had experienced. She referred to James as a thief, that he stole her beautiful daughter away, and he stole the rest of her life. James couldn't wait to read his statement to the court. He clutched it between his shackled hands the whole time. And at the end, of her statement, Jennifer said, I hate you and I can never forgive you. And unfortunately, Jennifer didn't find the closure she was seeking. It didn't bring her daughter back. Oh, and James did speak, he spoke straight to the judge. He called it a sad chain of events that he was wrapped up in. And he tried to explain that there was no evidence to prove that he did anything wrong.

No one could truly identify his eye color, his exact bike, or his clothing. He even asked to judge, how many people have eyes that are shaped like the composite? He also used this time to complain about not getting evidence from the prosecution. The judge finally said that the reality is, we're here to sentence you today, not to argue about a new trial. The judge ultimately sentenced James

to life in prison without the possibility of parole. And James' mother, Brenda, had a lot to say to the media. She accused the cops of framing her son. Somebody is out there, and their kids ain't safe. I'm telling you right now, because if they can do it once, they're going to do it twice. What do you think? I'm really curious by your thoughts. I'm sure you have a lot of them.

April's mother expressed her desire for a more severe punishment. However, due to the absence of the death penalty in Michigan, James did receive the maximum sentence that the state could impose upon him. In order to honor and preserve April's memory, her friends and family came together to create a beautiful memorial garden at the head of the McCombie or something. This garden serves as a reminder of the vibrant life that was tragically cut short. Those who loved April often find themselves pondering what her life would have been like if she hadn't been cruelly taken away. June 2018 would have been a time where April was celebrating her high school graduation,

but instead an empty chair was adorned with white and pink decorations and was left in her honor. Before the names of the graduating class were called, Jennifer Millsap took the stage to accept a degree, a degree on behalf of her beloved daughter. It was a deeply emotional moment, and Jennifer was touched by the gesture from the school. I love this garden. It has a statue of her dog, Penny. Two dogs were very pivotal in this story.

Buster who found April's phone, and of course Penny who stood by her side. It makes me sad to think about what that poor animal had to witness, but I'm so thankful that she was found as quickly as she was. It brings tears to my eyes. I do want to try to do something,

maybe every season for one of the families that we talk about. And I'm really compelled to do something for this garden to make sure it's maintained because it is maintained by volunteers and they do have a fund that you can donate to. So I will think about that and if you see it in another video or you see it in my description box below, do what you can. Anything helps.

The reason I do these videos is so the memory of these victims can live on and this garden serves as a place where you can reflect and you can remember April. I just want to thank you so very much for being here today, and I will see you in my next video. Bye.